


and won’t you say (you love me too)

by echoesofstardust



Category: Figure Skating RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, F/M, more oblivious mutual pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-13
Updated: 2019-06-13
Packaged: 2020-05-02 12:15:14
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,681
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19198588
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/echoesofstardust/pseuds/echoesofstardust
Summary: This one, decorated with red and pink hearts, had the prompt ‘If you've never had the courage to confess to that person in your class how much you like them, write it here.’On a whim, Tessa decided to write down a confession about someone that she's beginning to admit she actually has feelings for.The plan did not include said someone walking in the middle of her literally waxing poetic about him.





	and won’t you say (you love me too)

**Author's Note:**

> Uh, so when I walked past an interactive art piece at my uni a few months ago that said something along the lines of 'If you've never had the courage to confess to that person in your class how much you like them, write it here' the only reasonable reaction is to write a fic about it, right?
> 
> I've only been at uni for a semester, so sorry if things seem unreasonable or inaccurate. I use the terminology I'm used to in my corner of the world and I'm not sure if 'tutorial' means the same thing universally (the one where it's a smaller class and you talk about different topics each week)...but let me know of any glaring errors.
> 
> Anyway, hope you enjoy <3

She almost stumbles when she turns her head and sees his familiar mop of dark hair.

His pen lid is stuck between his teeth as he scrawls something down on the square space of a hot-pink sticky note.

“Scott?”

He looks up at her. He takes the pen lid out of his mouth as his trademark cocky grin graces his face. “Tessa.”

“What are you doing here?” she blurts. She wants to smack herself as she says it because it's what she's doing too but it's very unexpected for Scott to be here.

“Looks like the same thing as you, kiddo.” He points towards her right hand pinning the sticky note to the cork board. She quickly flattens her hand to cover up what she's written.

Their university was having some artsy-themed week that included a bunch of pop-up interactive stuff throughout the campus. This one, decorated with red and pink hearts, had the prompt ‘If you've never had the courage to confess to that person in your class how much you like them, write it here.’

Surprisingly, the cork board was pretty full and most of the notes were genuine, heartfelt confessions. On a whim, Tessa decided to write down a confession about someone that she's beginning to admit she actually has feelings for.

The plan did not include said _someone_ walking in the middle of her literally waxing poetic about him.

Luckily, Scott seems to be ignoring her very obvious attempt to hide who she’s writing about.

“So, Virtch, who’s the lucky guy or gal?” And she spoke too soon.

“No one. It’s nothing,” she snaps, but she presses her hand harder over her scribbled message. _Please leave it, Scott_ , she begs quietly.

When she glances at him out of the corner of her eye, he’s looking thoughtfully at her. “Okay, whatever you say.”

He continues writing on his sticky note. Curiosity claws at Tessa’s chest. Who could he be writing about? There are literally thousands of people at their university.

She stares at his hand that’s still writing. God, how much is he writing? How much does this person mean to him?

Something aches in Tessa.

“Curious to know who mine is about, T?” His smirk is back.

“No.”

“Suit yourself. I, however, don’t have anything to hide and am totally fine with you reading this as soon as I’ve turned my back.” He pauses his writing, squints his eyes at what he’s written, then he smiles. It’s the softest smile Tessa’s ever seen him have.

This person must mean so much to him.

“Catch ya later T,” he throws up a two-finger salute as he walks backwards away from her. He spins on his heel and continues walking.

It’s more than a little bit masochistic of her to read this actual love letter from Scott to whoever it’s addressed to, but she can’t help herself. He did say he didn’t have anything to hide right?

_To the one who holds my heart,_

_The first thing I noticed about you is your laugh. You laugh like there’s nothing holding you back. What wouldn’t I give to be the one to make you laugh like that? You’re so smart, and you leave me in awe every time I’m in class with you. But I don’t think you’d know that—I do try to hide it from you. I’ve never let you know how I feel, but I will one day. When I know you’re ready to hear it from me. For now, just know that I admire and adore you and my days are infinitely brighter when I see you. -S_

~

Once Scott had walked away from Tessa for enough paces, he surreptitiously glances back. Tessa’s reading his note! Well, he wasn’t sure if she would, but he sure hoped. He notices her run the tip of her index finger over his writing.

He had passed by the interactive stall as he was rushing to a lecture the day before, but he resolved to go back as soon as he was able to.

He had always worn his emotions on his sleeve, but this girl who had stolen his heart with barely any effort seemed like she would be spooked by any brash admission.

He figured he’d write out everything he felt, get it out onto paper, then get cracking on a subtle way to possibly win her heart.

The last thing he expected was to see her at the stall the same time he wanted to get his feelings down on paper.

It had taken everything in him to stay cool, calm and collected. And to mask the little bit of hurt at the thought of Tessa mooning over some other wonderful person. And he’s _sure_ they’re wonderful. Tessa had never struck him as the type to settle for anything other than the best.

He’s missed his chance.

Granted he’s possibly missed his chance since the day they first met and she happened to disagree on a point he made in their tutorial and his first response was to argue until she gave in. She didn’t.

It’s not like they’ve stayed enemies since that day. Shared tables at the library, random cups of coffee he buys her and finding each other on the same side of an argument in their tutorial had done wonders for their friendship.

Also stumbling into each other at the bar, both tipsy and toeing the line to drunk, where he apologised for that first argument. That he shouldn’t have argued for the sake of arguing. He hates apologising, but he wishes he had had the courage to do it while sober. She deserved it.

Tessa had smiled and patted his shoulder, saying she’s glad he didn’t back down.

Drunk Scott had sworn Tessa had kissed him on the cheek. Sober Scott wasn’t sure if he hadn’t imagined it by the next morning.

He shakes his head, an effort to rattle the memory (Does it count as a memory if you’re not sure it actually happened? Scott thinks yes) back into a corner of his mind.

It doesn’t matter anymore, if there’s someone else in the picture.

The next time he sees her at a lecture, he catches her as she’s leaving the room. She raises an amused eyebrow at him. “Scott.”

“Hey T.” He makes no effort to continue the conversation.

She quirks the corner of her mouth. “Can I help you with something?”

“Actually—” he pauses in front of the pop-up interactive art exhibit, “I was hoping I could help you with something.”

Tessa’s eyes widen as she realises where he stopped them. “Moir, no. Whatever your idea is, no.”

He dramatically places a hand on his chest, acting wounded. “Ouch, Tess. Hadn’t realised how lowly you think of me. You haven’t even heard what the idea is yet.”

Her eyes flick towards a spot on the corkboard. He knows it’s the note she wrote to the lucky, lucky idiot who holds her heart. He resists all temptation to look.

“Tessa I—” keeping his gaze fixed on hers, “I want to help you with your person.”

~

All Tessa can do is stare at Scott in disbelief. All she can hear is the thump of her heart ringing in her ears.

“What? Why?” she splutters.

“Because…” the question catches him off guard, “why not?” He shuffles over to bump his shoulder with hers.

She narrows her eyes at him. He sighs, “Come on, T, I thought we were friends, now? Unless we’re not, then of course that’s totally fine and we can forget about this conversation—”

“Scott.” she interrupts his rambling, catches his shoulder in her palm, her thumb rubbing at the fabric of his shirt. She doesn’t notice the firmness of his muscle there. At all. “We’re friends.”

“Right, right,” he scratches the back of his neck, “so whaddya say T? I’ll help you land your mystery person. Unless,” a spark of mischief glints in his eyes, “you’re too scared,” he sing-songs.

She feels her competitive side flare up at the challenge. The barely contained mirth in Scott’s shaking shoulders lets her know he knows exactly the effect those words had on her. Tessa lets out a breath, “I’ll let you help me—” Scott jerks his head up in surprise “—only if you let me help you as well.”

He tilts his head down a little. He shakes his head. When he looks up, the only way Tessa can describe his smile is rueful. “Sure kiddo, I’ll let you help me.”

~

“It’s Mark, isn’t it?”

Tessa turns to face Scott, as he’s leaning down beside where she’s sitting in the library. His mouth is dangerously close to her ear.

“Nope.” She pops the ‘p’ at the end of the word. She turns back to the essay that she’s writing.

“No? Damn, I thought I had it.” Scott plops down in the chair next to hers.

“Really?”

“No,” he grins at her, “just wanted to throw out a guess.” He reaches over to pluck one of her notebooks that’s spread open. It’s from one of their shared psych classes.

“But don’t you think Mark’s cute?” he pipes up, apparently not letting go of the conversation.

“You know what, Mark’s great, if you have him as part of a group project, he won’t let you down, but…” Tessa cranes her neck to the left. Scott follows her gaze. The blonde, burly guy, Mark, is leaning against one of the tables, chatting to a dark-haired guy. They watch Mark reach over to tangle his fingers with the dark-haired guy, kiss him lightly, and say goodbye.

“...he’s currently really happy with his relationship.”

There’s a moment where Scott’s eyes widen. She thinks she hears him whisper, “Oh, fuck internalised heteronormativity.” He winces at her, “Sorry, T. I should’ve known better.” His gaze softens as he looks where the pair were. “Oh man, they’re so cute,” Scott whispers, still staring in their general direction.

Tessa swats his shoulder. “Don’t stare, Scott, that’s rude. But they are really cute together.” She sighs.

The next she feels is Scott’s arm squeezing around her. “Don’t worry T, you’re gonna end up with your person and you two can be as adorable as those two.”

She tries to smile but thinks it’s come out more like a grimace. “You too, Scott.”

~

“Is it Kiara?” Scott’s in line for coffee when Tessa asks him that as a greeting. He gives her a bemused smile.

“And hello to you, T. How has your day been?” He pauses for effect. “That’s how friends usually greet each other.”

“Haha, very funny. But is it?” She raises an eyebrow.

“No,” he shakes his head. There’s a clearing of someone’s throat. He turns to see a somewhat tired cashier kind of glaring. He feels bad for taking his time. “Sorry about that. Just a medium black coffee, thanks. And...what are you having, T?”

Tessa startles, like she hadn’t expected him to pay for her coffee. He thought he’d bought her enough over the semester that she’d be used to it, but he likes that he can still surprise her.

“Just...a cafe misto, please? And I’m so sorry for holding up the line.” She directs that to the cashier, whose grumpy demeanour relaxes slightly. It’s kind of understandable. It’s the time of the semester where everyone’s stressed.

Scott makes sure to drop the change in the tip jar.

Once they’ve been given their coffees, Tessa pointedly says to him, “I’m getting the coffees next time.”

His heart soars at the prospect of more time spent with Tessa, but he keeps his cool. He hopes. “Sure, Tess.” He remembers her question. “So, what made you think it was Kiara?”

“Nothing, it was just a random guess,” she shrugs, taking a sip of her coffee and sighing contentedly, “I was thinking if I throw out enough suggestions I can read your body language and figure out your type?” She hums thoughtfully, “But I don’t know what you’re like when you’re into someone—I only know what you’re like around me.”

There’s a part of Scott that wants to pipe up and say that those were basically the same thing, but he’s not ready to get his heart broken.

“Also, I thought maybe it was Kiara because I saw her approach you after our tutorial last Wednesday? I don’t know her that well, but she was _definitely_ interested.” Tessa grins wickedly.

Scott pales at the memory of Kiara’s approach. “No, no, it’s definitely not her.”

“Okay, well, that doesn’t matter,” Tessa says, her eyes glinting, “I’ll figure it out.”

~

“Do you think we could give each other one hint?” Scott asks, poking her arm. They’re procrastinating by laying side by side in one of the grassy areas while the weather is nice and sunny.

Tessa turns her head and squints at him, “Are you giving up yet?”

She’d thought she’d want him to give up as soon as he could, but the increasing time they’d spent together in the past week has been so—good. It’s such a simple word to describe being in Scott’s company, but a part of her thought that maybe being around him more would stop her stupid feelings, that she was more into the idea of him than who Scott actually is.

But that’s not the case.

Every little bit that she learns a little more each day hasn’t stopped any of it. Not at all.

“No, definitely not.” For a moment there’s nothing but the sound of his breathing and hers. “I want you to be happy.” He murmurs the last bit.

Her breath catches.

“You too, Scott. But I don’t need to be with who I like to be happy. I just want to pass all my finals,” she props herself up on one elbow to look down on him, grinning.

“When you say pass, I know you mean Tessa-pass, which is getting the highest grade possible.”

“Shut up.” She flops down again. She chews on her bottom lip thinking, “Uh, so for the hint, what about eye colour?”

“I guess that works.” Scott doesn’t offer anything else, so she guesses she needs to go first.

Shit, why did she suggest eye colour? She’s not 100% certain what colour Scott’s eyes are, and she can’t try to check what colour his eyes are without giving it away, but she thinks they’re—

“Brown? His eye colour is brown.”

Even if they’re not touching, she’s sure Scott stiffens beside her.

“Hers are green,” he blurts. “Gorgeous green,” he adds. The way he whispers the last two words can only be described as reverential.

She turns to look at him, only to find he’s already looking at her.

Oh, she fucked up. The way the colours in his eyes meld together could only be described as hazel.

“Thanks for the hint, Tess.” He reaches over to squeeze her hand.

She smiles weakly.

~

Scott stares at his reflection in the bathroom mirror, hair and face damp from splashing it with water. He didn’t think it would actually hurt this much. He thought he was fine with the fact that Tessa was very much into someone else, but he realises now that he had been hoping that maybe, Tessa could think of him what he thinks of her.

It feels like being dunked in an ice-cold bath to know that it’s definitely not him.

He swears not to let it affect their friendship though. He’s not sure he could forgive himself if he loses Tessa because he’s being selfish.

As he’s walking back to his room, his phone rings. He sees it’s his mom.

“Hey, Ma.” He sits down at the end of his bed.

“Scott! How are you?” There’s something about hearing his mom’s voice that always makes him feel better, even if he’s far away from her.

“I’m great,” he says, weakly. It’s not a lie, right? If he wants it to be the truth.

“Scotty,” his mom says, her voice admonishing with that one word. He winces at the nickname, but his mom will forever be one of the few people in the world who get away with calling him that.

“No, I’m fine. I swear.” He tries to smile. “It’s just...there’s this girl,” he says wistfully.

“Ahh,” his mom says. He can see her patented knowing look on her face, the eyebrows raised just so.

“She’s amazing, Mom. She’s so smart and kind and beautiful…”

“So...when are you gonna bring her home to meet us?” His mom jokes.

It hits him that he’s not going to be doing that with Tessa. He’s not going to drive her down to his hometown, windows down and singing along to the radio. He’s not going to introduce her to his family with a hand on the small of her back. He’s not going to see each of his family members falling a little bit in love with her.

“Ma,” he chokes out. His eyes are aching but he doesn’t want to cry. “She doesn’t—she’s in love with someone else.”

“Oh, Scotty.”

He looks up, blinking his eyes quickly, draws in a sharp breath. “I want her to be happy. I just hadn’t realised it would hurt this much. I’m being selfish, I know.” He chuckles.

“No, you’re not. If you were, you’d be forcing her to choose you, not talking to me about it.”

“Thanks, Ma.” He swallows, “I know the stock-standard advice is that you know, I won’t always feel this way and ten years from now it won’t matter as much, but it’s just hard to see it that way right now. She—she means a lot to me.”

“I can see that, honey.”

Scott wishes he could see his mom right now, let her hug him the way she’s done since he was little. His parents’ hugs always made him feel safe, like the world wasn’t so scary.

Part of growing up, he’s realised, is knowing how to go without what he took for granted as a kid.

“I love you, Scott.”

“Love you too, Ma. Tell Dad I say hi? How is he by the way?”

Their conversation diverts to his dad and his brothers and the rest of the Moirs’ shenanigans. By the end of the phone call, he feels a lot lighter.

~

Tessa hasn’t been able to look in a mirror properly since Scott gave his hint. She’d see the colour of her eyes and she can’t quite bear the flare of hope in her chest at the thought that Scott’s mystery girl could be—her.

It’s stupid to hope for so much. Especially because she’s come to know Scott as someone who’s confident and self-assured, in a self-aware way. She’s pretty sure if he was interested in her, he’d tell her.

She spins her phone in her hand, thinking of texting him. She had noticed that he seemed a bit more subdued in their last tutorial, an unusual contrast to the rest of the people there who were antsy to get out.

She had caught his eye as they were leaving, tilting her head to the side and raising an eyebrow slightly in an unspoken question. _Are you okay?_

He had nodded, offered her a small smile, and slipped out the classroom before she could catch up.

He probably just has a paper he needs to work on, or something else pressing, but a part of her couldn’t help but wonder if he was avoiding her.

She knows she shouldn’t take it personally, but sometimes insecurities whisper with the loudest voices.

 _‘Hey Scott’_ she sends. Followed by _‘Hope you’re doing fine. You seemed a bit tired during our tutorial_ followed that one. The final one she sent went, _‘Let me know if you need anything, I’m here if you need’_.

Her phone buzzes twice not that long after.

 _‘Just feeling a bit stressed atm’_ was his reply. _‘Thanks T, I know I can count on you’_.

 _‘Okay, take care of yourself xx’_ Tessa hadn’t realised that she’d signed the text with two kisses until she’d sent it.

That can be interpreted as friendly right?

Scott’s reply quickly followed. _‘You too xx’_

Friendly, she reminds herself, steadfastly ignoring the warmth she feels at getting those two letters back.

~

Tessa stands in front of the full corkboard of messages, scanning for Scott’s note. She’s pretty sure it’s in towards the top right corner... _Aha! There it is._

She reads each line he wrote carefully, fiddling with the strap of her bag. She’d noticed that Scott’s still been feeling down lately, and she hopes finding his mystery girl will help cheer him up. She feels a bit guilty that she hasn’t been putting in a lot of effort into finding her for the past couple of days. She hasn’t been using the hint that Scott’s given her as much as she should, hasn’t been paying attention to girls’ eyes.

If she’s honest with herself, it’s because aches to wonder who it could be. But she thinks it could cheer Scott up, so she’s resolved to put in more effort into this scheme of hers.

“Virtch?” It’s Scott. “What are you doing here?”

“Ummm,” she doesn’t want to admit the full truth so she scrambles for an explanation, “just—just admiring how nice everyone’s messages are.”

~

Scott follows where her gaze had been looking. His eyes land on his own note. The one he had written to her.

“Tess,” he tries again, “what are you really doing here?”

Tessa winces as she looks at him, “Okay, the truth is, I’d noticed you seemed a bit more down lately? So uhhh...I was rereading your note, trying to learn more about your mystery girl. I was thinking if I could find her, then that might cheer you up?” The last few words escape her in a rush.

“Oh, T.” Her kindness never ceases to astound him. “You were gonna do that while also studying for finals?” He jokes.

“I’m sure I can schedule it in,” she smiles. He thinks of her multicoloured studying schedule and suppresses his chuckle.

“Ahh...I don’t think it’ll be worth it, T. It’s not—”

“Scott.” She interrupts him. “You’re worth it,” she ducks her eyes down for a second, “you’re amazing. She—she should know that. If she doesn’t realise that, then she’s the one that’s not worth it.” Her green, gorgeous green eyes meet his with steely determination, wisps of hair escaping from her braid and framing her face.

Standing here with her, he realises how much she cares about him. However rocky the start of their relationship was, their friendship now is strong, solid and sure.

He doesn’t want Tessa wasting her time searching for a girl she won’t find unless she looks in a mirror. He has faith that if he tells her the truth, they’ll get through this. It might be awkward and painful but—

He doesn’t think he’ll lose her.

“Tess,” he begins. His heart is hammering in his chest. “Remember when I told you about her eye colour?” He reaches out slowly, to tuck strands of her hair behind her ear.

“Yeah, you said—”

“Green, gorgeous green.” As he says the words, he sweeps the pad of his thumb from her cheekbones to the corner of her eye.

He feels her gasp as he hears it.

“It’s always been you, T.” The next breath he takes hitches. He blinks his eyes sharply. “I’m sorry, I know you don’t feel the same way.” The words leave him in a whisper.

He drops his hand from where it was touching her cheek and begins to turn away, but before he can leave, he feels her grab his hand, unrelenting.

“Scott.”

~

 _It’s always been you, T._ Scott’s words echo in her ears. The shock hasn’t quite left her, but she can’t let him leave without him knowing how she feels about him.

When he turns back to look at her, he looks a little chipped and a little broken. _I’m sorry, I know you don’t feel the same way._ He has to know the truth.

Her mind is blanking, can’t think of the right words to say, but she remembers what they’re standing next to.

Her grip on Scott’s hand doesn’t loosen as she searches for her own note. The one she wrote to him.

She pulls it from the corkboard, careful not to tear it too much.

“ _You infuriated me on the day we met,_ ” she reads out loud. She thinks her voice is shaking as much as her hand. “ _And a lot of the days after. But at some point something changed, somewhere between the fifth almond cappuccino you bought me and that time you backed me up against that guy in our class who said I was wrong. Without bothering to bring up evidence. We like to argue, but at least you’ve always backed yourself up with evidence.”_

She squeezes Scott’s hand before continuing, “ _Something changed because I started looking forward to seeing you and somehow, bad days become slightly better after a conversation with you. I wish I could tell you how I feel, but I don’t know how to begin. I hope one day I’ll be able to look you in the eye and tell you how much you mean to me._ ”

She looks up at Scott, meets his eyes. “And I made a mistake telling you his eye colour?” She runs her thumb back and forth on his wrist. “It’s not brown, it’s hazel.” She bites her bottom lip, trying to suppress the grin. She’s certain she hasn’t succeeded.

Watching the realisation dawn on Scott’s face is like watching the sunrise. She watches the way his eyes narrow infinitesimally, then widen in disbelief. She watches the way his jaw slackens and the way his lips form an ‘o’ in surprise, before quirking upwards in a smile.

“Me?”

Tessa nods, letting herself grin up at him. “Yeah, Scott. It’s always been you, too.”

He closes the distance between them, both of his hands moving upwards to cup her face. She brings up her other hand to hold onto his. He dips his head down, his lips so close.

~

Happiness doesn’t seem like a long enough word to describe what he feels in this moment. He can’t quite believe he’s touching her skin in this way, so close to the blush-pink of her lips.

“Can I kiss you?” He asks.

Tessa’s eyes flutter open. The green of her eyes overwhelms him. “Please,” she whispers.

In the end he doesn’t know if it’s him that dips the last half-inch down, or her that surges up the final half-inch up, but the feeling of his lips on hers is everything.

He discovers that they kiss like they debate, lots of give and take, her intensity and skill always managing to sweep him off his feet, and she always manages to get the last say.

She nips his bottom lip before soothing it with her tongue, pulling away slightly.

“Scott,” she says, breathless. “Maybe we shouldn’t do this in public.”

He laughs at that, pressing his forehead against hers. “That’s probably a good idea.” He sneaks in another kiss, savouring the way she laughs. “Let’s get out of here then? Let me take you on a date?”

“I’m sure I can fit that into my schedule,” Tessa grins. “And later…?” She pitches her voice low, running her fingers up his chest, arching one eyebrow.

It takes all his self-control not to drag her off in some secluded place and let her have her way with him.

“Later.” He kisses her knuckles in a promise.

( _Later_ doesn’t disappoint. Waking up to her on his chest, wearing just his shirt and looking at him soft and sleepy-eyed, the next morning, is even better.

The best thing is Tessa finding a stack of hot-pink sticky notes on his desk and scribbling _Will you be my boyfriend?_ with a box beside ‘yes’ and ‘no’ like a grade schooler.

There’s only one answer he can give her.)


End file.
